Because many noncriminal immigrants were being caught in the deportation dragnet, some law enforcement officers in California began to advocate for opting out of the federal government’s Secure Communities program because it was compromising trust between them and the communities they seek to protect. Back in December of last year, California Attorney General Kamala Harris told local law enforcement that participation in the federal program was optional saying that she wanted immigrants to feel comfortable approaching the police if they needed to.

Last Thursday, the California State Assembly passed another version of the TRUST Act that Brown vetoed in the fall by a vote of 44-20 and sent the bill to the State Senate. If the bill makes it out of the Senate, there will be renewed pressure on Governor Brown to sign it, especially in light of a recent study showing that local police involvement in immigration enforcement makes Latinos reluctant to cooperate with law enforcement and in the context of the timing of the immigration reform bill in Washington, D.C.

Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), who authored the bill, said in a statement released on Thursday, “I am committed to engaging in a dialogue with the Governor. I hope he will come to the table and ultimately champion a bill to protect thousands of California families from a wasteful and out of control deportation system. We should not deport people today, when tomorrow they could be on the road to citizenship under immigration reform.”

The Executive Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Pablo Alvarado, praised the Assembly for passing the TRUST Act last week, “The California Assembly affirmed its commitment to public safety and civil rights today. We are all less safe when imaginary fears born in places like Arizona trump legitimate public safety concerns in our communities. The cloud of suspicion cast by the federal Secure Communities deportation program has created a crisis in California. The TRUST Act makes us safer by taking serious the rational fear immigrants have of police and pushing back on the unjust deportations that are ravaging our state. It is now time for Governor Brown to demonstrate leadership in repairing what everyone agrees is a broken, unjust, and dangerous status quo.”

The TRUST Act is just one measure that has been gaining momentum to limit local law enforcement in detaining undocumented immigrants. Last week on the same day that the TRUST Act was passed in the California Assembly, the New Orleans City Council in Louisiana asked its Sheriff to stop holding immigrants in jail because the federal government may suspect that they are in the country illegally. New Orleans was prompted to act in part because of the costs incurred to hold the immigrants. This week the TRUST Act will be taken up in the California Senate.

About the Author

Adriana Maestas

Adriana Maestas is the senior contributing editor of Politic365.com.
The ideas and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author, and have complete editorial independence from any Politic365 partners, sponsors, or advertisers. For additional information about Politic365, please visit http://politic365.com/about/.

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